Well, I guess we can all stop arguing about whether the Vatican did or didn't support the Nazis in the 1940s since the Joseph Ratzinger, the new Pope Benedict XVI, actually was assigned to several German units which fought against the allies between 1943-1945.

OK, maybe that's not fair - he eventually deserted. After Hitler already killed himself and the Americans were taking over his hometown.

Well, nobody's perfect. Until you're the pope.

Defense of the Pope's work benefitting the Jewish people is noted by Sam Ser in the Jerusalem Post.

As prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger played an instrumental role in the Vatican's revolutionary reconciliation with the Jews under John Paul II. He personally prepared Memory and Reconciliation, the 2000 document outlining the church's historical "errors" in its treatment of Jews. And as president of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, Ratzinger oversaw the preparation of The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible, a milestone theological explanation for the Jews' rejection of Jesus.

The AJC has nice things to say as well.

Rabbi David Rosen of the American Jewish Committee, whose field of expertise is interfaith relations, dismissed the concerns. "There are historical reasons for Jewish paranoia," Rosen said, but "the mark of the man is the adult Ratzinger, not the child. As an adult he has shown a deep understanding of our concerns."

A good history here.



Pope Benedict XVI is not to be confused with John Ratzenberger, formally of Cheers.